In the past, many techniques have been developed for eye surgery to correct various defects, both traumatic and congenital. For example, several surgical methods and devices for use in cataract surgery are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,903 issued to Schachar and U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,953 issued to Flom, et al.
One type of eye surgery may include, for example, the removal of the natural lens and implantation of an artificial intraocular lens to replace a damaged human lens.
For example, typical surgery for cataracts will generally include forming a standard cataract incision about a portion of the periphery of the cornea. After the incision is made about the periphery of the cornea, the cornea is lifted up to expose the iris and the human lens. In some cases, the human lens is removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens.
Part of the surgical implantation procedure may include the injection of fluid into the anterior chamber of the eye so that the iris may be maintained in a flat position while maintaining the curvature of the cornea and maintaining separation between the corneal endothelium and the iris and implanted lens. Similarly, other types of surgical procedures may also require that during or after surgery the corneal endothelium is not allowed to contact the iris or other portion of the human eye or surgical implant. Failure to maintain the corneal endothelium in proper relation can permanently damage the corneal endothelial cells, which can in some cases cause permanent vision defects and in some cases, blindness.
Known methods of injecting air into the anterior chamber of the eye include instilling air through a peripheral corneal incision. Therefore, a need has arisen for a method and apparatus for the injection of a fluid, either liquid or gas, so that the pressure in the anterior chamber of the human eye can be controlled and monitored to facilitate surgical operations and minimize the risk of injury to the eye, particularly to the corneal endothelium, both during and after the surgical procedure.